Diet Myths Green Tea Aids Weight Loss?

Diet Myths
Green Tea Aids Weight Loss?

• September 27, 2010 6:47 am
• KODM
• 0 Comments

Almighty Tea

Legend has it that tea was discovered 5000 BC, by accident, by a Chinese emperor. Since then tea has taken off and has long been associated with great health benefits. The plant the tea leaves come from is the Camellia sinensis, and both green and black teas come from the same plant. Black tea is fermented and green tea is not. This fermentation process is believed to reduce the antioxidant levels, making black tea less desirable. Before we get into the other great benefits of drinking tea let's take a look and see if green tea can help you slim down. The main compound that is usually associated with weight loss is EGCG. While EGCG gets a lot of the credit a lot of evidence shows that the caffeine also can increase weight loss by increasing energy expenditure.

EGCG is known as a catechin which is a type of polyphenol that acts a strong antioxidant. This catechin has been shown, with caffeine to help promote weight loss in various ways. A study done in 2000 was done with mice feed from 1%-4% of their diet for four months. The study concluded that the mice fed with green tea in their diets had suppression of food intake, weight gain, and fat tissue accumulation. Also, the mice fed green tea had lower levels of cholesterol. Many other studies have shown that green tea is linked to a higher energy expenditure (more calories burned).

There have been a few studies done to test whether or not the weight loss effects of green tea is simply from the caffeine or from other compounds like EGCG. A study was done to test the energy expenditure of those with green tea extract (caffeine included) and those given just a small amount of caffeine equivalent to the green tea extract. The people given the green tea extract resulted in a 4% higher energy expenditure than those given just caffeine, which showed that it was not just the caffeine at work. A proposed theory for this difference is that EGCG stops an enzyme that destroys norepinephrine, which could increase energy expenditure.

Way More than Weight Loss

Cancer Fighting: There have been numerous studies done that show a strong link between consumption of green tea and lower cancer rates. Green tea is believed to kills cancer cells, which will obviously prevent those cells from reproducing. More and more studies are starting to show that green tea does have properties that lessen your chances of getting many different types of cancer.

Lowers Cholesterol: There is strong research that seems to indicate that green tea can raise HDL cholesterol (good). A population based study showed that men who regularly drink green tea have lower levels of total cholesterol versus those who do not drink green tea regularly. Also, the polyphenols in green tea seem to block absorption and increase excretion of cholesterol in the body.

Antioxidant: These antioxidants can help destroy free radicals in the body. Free radicals have been shown to damage cells and can lead to blood clot formation and cancer. These antioxidants can also help prevent DNA damage associated with smoking and other toxic chemicals.

Green tea has also been shown to help prevent and manage diabetes, lower risk for coronary heart disease, prevent liver disease, and reduced risk for inflammatory bowel disease. The evidence supporting the drinking of tea is just piling up more and more every day. There seems to be and endless amount of uses for green tea, and little reasons to not drink green tea. Remember to watch the amount of sugar and cream that is added to your tea, and drink away!

Reminder: Do drink bottled green tea and assume you will be reaping the benefits. It's best to buy actual tea bags and make it at home! Buy your green tea like this this.

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